Blue and Infinite
by Erendis Black
Summary: Drabbles, oneshots, cut scenes. What the future brings...
1. Zero and Kizna

Disclaimer: I do not own Megami Kouhosei nor any of the characters featured there. I just borrow them for my personal recreation and, hopefully, yours.

Notes: This is a series of short/long drabbles and not an ongoing fanfiction per se. There will be 6 or 8 of them, all featuring one or more familiar characters. Mainly, they're a possible take on the future of the series and not necessarily what I really believe that will happen. Read with an open mind and I hope you enjoy it!

I will post warnings on the pairings -or hinted pairings- as I update. Suffice to say, I lean towards all the major and most common pairings.

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**_Zero and Kizna_**

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"Zero?" she asked, breaking the easy silence.

"Yes?" he returned. She could never startle him.

"Are you truly happy? With Eeva Leena, I mean," she said, hoping her meaning would be plain.

Zero shifted slightly, stretching his legs, and for a moment he hovered next to her. "I am, Ki," he said, truthfully. He settled down again, wrenching his eyes from the attractive azure sight of the planet before them and focusing solely on the girl next to him. "She's what I wanted most, why shouldn't I be happy?"

Kizna's ears flickered inside the synthetic sphere of her space suit, as she looked at Zero in the eye. "She isn't Ernn Laties," she said simply.

Zero smiled or, actually, he grinned. Kizna had come to the conclusion that there were no 'half-ways' for Zero Enna: he went all the way, even when he smiled. "That's why I haven't changed Eeva Leena's name."

"I thought you hadn't because of Gareas-kun," Kizna frowned, narrowing her eyes.

Zero's smile toned down. "Partly because of Gareas's request and partly because she isn't my Ingrid."

Kizna was totally bewildered now. Whenever she thought she had figured Zero out, he came up with something new and unexpected. Way to keep life interesting, she thought as she slid her weightless body around, to face him completely.

"What do you mean 'she isn't your Ingrid'?" she asked at last, failing to keep indignation from her voice. "Who's Ingrid is it?"

"I don't know yet," he replied with complete calm, the dazzling grin resurfacing. "All I know is that I will be Pilot to Ernn Laties someday and we will name her together, Kizna."

"Have you been drinking something weird, Zero Enna? Or has the lack of gravity finally messed up your brain?" The pink haired girl huffed and stood up, hands on her hips, as she glared down at her partner. "You can't change Goddesses like you change underwear!"

Zero pushed himself off the metallic body that was G.I.S. with enough force to rocket up several feet into space. He floated there, completely at ease and turned to look at his Repairer.

"No and no," he said shortly. "But if you ask me, I think Hiead will get Eeva Leena."

Kizna gaped at him. "He— but he has the Black Goddess!"

Zero just looked at her with the same expression as before. Kizna bit her bottom lip in frustration. What the heck was Zero thinking?

"And you're okay with that?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.

Zero's chin bobbed up and down inside his transparent globe.

"Alright, who are you and what have you done with Pilot 02, Zero Enna?"

Zero's laughter came as a trickle of running water. "Don't freak out, Kizna! It's just that now I know we'll work together one day, so I've been trying to accept it."

Kizna gave a sharp pull to the cable linking them together and Zero came spiralling down and landed, head first, on the smooth hull of the space station. "You 'know'? How?" she asked, curiously, when Zero stopped scowling at her.

"Teela said so."

"Oooh, of course! '_Teela_ said so'! Indeed, every word from her mouth is to be written down and taken as holy!"

This time Zero tried to stifle the giggle urging to leave his throat. Kizna's tone dripped jealousy, but Zero knew she had actually idolized Teela before he had even know the female Pilot's name. Of course, he wasn't about to tell Kizna that: he rather enjoyed more the time they spent at evens than the one spent at odds.

"Really," he said, trying to sound serious. "Hiead and I are equal in most things, so she said that if we work together –and we will learn how to, eventually- we'll be successful."

Kizna wanted to ask what he meant exactly with 'successful', but she had a good idea about that, anyway. And some things could not even be whispered aloud, lest they be lost, so she nodded and left it at that.

"So, what makes you think he'll work quietly under your command –even in the unlikely case you do get to pilot the White Goddess?" she asked, instead. "I know he's a great Pilot and all that, but you must think highly of him, if you believe that he'll ever agree to be second to you. He's already raging that he only got the third Goddess and you the second... "

Zero shook his head. "I'm just repeating what Teela told me. Personally," he said, as he turned his eyes to Zion once again, "I think he's an ass."

Kizna laughed merrily at that, reassured that Zero was in fact Zero and not a brainwashed version of himself.

"But," Zero remarked, winking cheekily at the girl, "I won't be telling _that_ to Teela."

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Comments, criticism and flames welcome. :)


	2. Rioroute and Phil Phleira

Disclaimer: I do not own Megami Kouhosei nor any of the characters featured there. I just borrow them for my personal recreation and, hopefully, yours.

Notes: This is a series of short/long drabbles and not an ongoing fanfiction per se. There will be 6 or 8 of them, all featuring one or morefamiliar characters. Mainly, they'rea possibletake on the future of the series and not necessarily what I really believe that will happen. Read with an open mind and I hope you enjoy it!

Pairings: There's a clear hint of Rio/Phil here.

Random stuff: This one s very short, but then again... it is a drabble. ;)

My eternal gratitude to animechick13 for reviewing, and a friendly wave to any lurkers. I know you're out there.

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**Rioroute and Phil Phleira **

"Are they still out there?" she asked.

"Yup. Don't know what could they be doing, though," he replied, getting his face closer to the glass.

"Well, what does it look like? Jeez, Rio, sometimes you're just—"

"He's just floating there, while she walks around, dragging him by the cord," he cut her off. "Oh, looks like they're coming back in!"

The red headed Repairer somehow managed to bite down her annoyance at being interrupted, by quickly getting off her chair and rushing to the door, all in one fluid motion.

"Where are you going?" Rioroute asked, half startled by her sudden vigour. The candy bar he had been eating dangled dangerously from the tips of his fingers, threatened by gravity.

"To meet them, of course! Make sure they don't go tinkering around with the Ingrids or—"

"They are allowed to "tinker" with their Ingrid, Phil," said Rio reasonably. Almost too much so for his usual slapdash self.

But Phil wasn't feeling very reasonable at the moment. That was twice in the interval of five minutes that her Pilot cut her off in the middle of one of her tirades. And for what! To tell her that those two brats –not to mention the other two, the red-eyed horror and his mousy Repairer- could in fact be allowed anywhere near the Goddesses.

"Rioroute Vilgyna," she started, advancing on him, yellow bow quivering, "don't you tell me that you trust them anymore than I do, because I'll know that you're flat-out lying!" Phil stopped only an inch away from his face and jabbed an accusatory finger at his chest.

The Agui-Keameia Pilot grinned impishly at his Repairer. She really was cute when angered. "I don't know if I'd trust them with my life yet, but they have every right to move freely inside the ship, without us following them around." _Really_, thought Rio, _I'm impressing myself_. Maturity wasn't one of his prominent traits. Well, not one he showed often, anyway.

"Besides," he added as an after thought, "Erts trusts them, this Zero kid and the girl. And if they've all made it this far..." He didn't finish, afraid of Phil's murderous look.

The girl –her right hand index finger still digging into Rio's chest- seemed to hover angrily over him for a moment and then her temper faded, as she exhaled a long breath. Shakily, she sat down on the windowsill and leaned on her Pilot.

"Fine. Point taken," she admitted between her teeth. "I guess I'm just still upset about it," she paused. "I'm going to miss Leena," Phil stammered, her green eyes filling up with angry tears . "And Kazuhi."

Rioroute stared at her for a moment, thinking about all the things he was going to miss and about the brief time they still had there, as active Pilot and Repairer. For a moment, he looked at the half-eaten bar on his hand and then put it down on the sill. "I'm sure they miss you too, Phil," he said, as he gingerly placed an arm on the girl's shoulders, wondering how long would his arm last on his socket after she noticed it.

It was surely a sign of doom when not only Phil didn't rip his arm off, but leaned her head on his shoulder and rested there, silently admitting defeat.

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Comments, criticism and flames welcome. :)


	3. Gareas and Leena

Disclaimer: I do not own Megami Kouhosei nor any of the characters featured there. I just borrow them for my personal recreation and, hopefully, yours.

Notes: This is a series of short/long drabbles and not an ongoing fanfiction per se. There will be 6 or 8 of them, all featuring one or morefamiliar characters. Mainly, they'rea possibletake on the future of the series and not necessarily what I really believe that will happen. Read with an open mind and I hope you enjoy it!

Pairings: A touch of Leena/Garu or Garu/Leena, as you feel like it.

Random stuff: I made some assumptions that may be wrong to canon, such as the time spent at GOA and GIS or Leena's origins, but as far as I know from research on the MK universe, there's still nothing set on stone that opposes to this. If you find anything that says otherwise, let me know.

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**_Gareas and Leena_**

Leena Fujimura's mind was wandering.

She was quite blind to the sight of the small garden on the other side of the window, as she was blind to the clear sky and sunlight. Her mind's eye was still trapped on the metallic corridors and the cool hangars of the space stations she had spent her last five years of life in. In her mind she was at GOA, taking care of her partner's Pro-Ing; she was at GIS, rushing through the hallways to meet Eeva Leena -her namesake- coming home after a rough battle.

In Leena's mind there was no room for colony life. She didn't want to think about her future. She didn't want to think about finding a job. She didn't want to settle down and start a family, like her father had suggested. Leena had found that the simple life –as in life without the constant rush and pull of adrenaline- was boring.

Not that she actually wanted to go back. No. She had said her goodbyes, she had cried her tears, she had made her promises. And Leena was relieved for this. No more alarms going off in the middle of the night, calling them all to duty. Duty paid with death and horror and nightmares. Nightmares where your partner, your Pilot, came back hurt and weary, or worse… when he didn't come back at all.

No, Leena Fujimura would learn how to start over, even if it meant do it a few light-years away from everything and everyone –well, not everyone- she loved. She was resolute; yet that didn't keep the faces from her friends from flashing before her eyes now, words resonating sweetly on her ears. Memories to sustain her through her new life.

_ Leena-san! I will never forget you. Leena-san, Leena-san…>> _

_ You have to take care of him now that Ernest-kun is gone. But don't let him drain you, Leena-sama. >>_

_ Leena! You know I think you're great, and so cute –ow, Phil, I was joking!- anyway, don't disappear now. Keep in touch, ne? >>_

_ You were mother to us all, Leena-san. Be well! >>_

_ What will I do without you, Leena? Who will help me keep them all in line? It'll be chaos. And all that idiot thinks about doing is eating! I swear, one day… But Leena, I wish you didn't have to go. >>_

But memories tended to fade in time and Leena did not want to think about the time when Tune or Phil's face would not be clear in her mind's eye as they were now. And Leena was perplexed by the bitter turn of her thoughts. She had never been prone to consider everything twice, to overanalyse things. On this matter she was more like Gareas, impetuous and reckless. Though, of course, her "reckless" decisions hadn't affected people in the same way that Gareas's had. In any case… they had been rightly matched, Leena had always known it.

A flash of brighter green moving on the garden outside, irrupted Leena's ponderings. Not that she cared, she was thinking too much, what with all that free time on her hands…

"Leena!" Came the familiar loud voice calling, confirming her suspicions. The blonde girl shot to her feet and bolted for the door. The room was small and she was there in a blink. She surprised Gareas Elidd by opening the door before he could even raise his fingers to touch to the knob.

"I saw you coming," she smiled at his bemused expression. "I was sitting by the window."

"Right," he offered, thrown off. "Want to take a walk?" And without waiting for an affirmative –or negative-- response, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her across the threshold and down the garden path, only letting go of her when they reached the street.

There they stood for a long moment, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically awkward. Leena stared at him for a moment, taking in how different he looked from what she was accustomed to. It was probably the clothing, she though, the lack of the well-known uniform. He was dressed entirely in black –pants, t-shirt and half-fingered gloves— and that somehow clashed oddly with their relaxed surroundings: the tranquil neighbourhood, full of normal, hard-working people that dressed in pastel tones. Leena herself was wearing a wishy-washy looking attire that she had found, still neatly folded in her bedroom drawers. Her parents hadn't touched a thing.

"You took your earring off," he remarked, trying to sound casual and barely concealing the dejected tone in his voice.

"Ah," she touched her hand to her ear, suddenly very aware of his gaze upon her, "Okaasan said it looked weird. I'll put it back on—"

He turned and started walking down street. "That's alright. We're no longer Pilot and Repairer, no need to wear similar items."

"You're still wearing yours. I shouldn't have—"

"It was mine first. Yours was just the copy I gave you."

"Garu! Will you stop interrupting me? You're right, I don't need to justify my actions to you now, but it'd be nice if you let me speak in full sentences." Leena's eyes were focused entirely on his, but he seemed to be looking straight past her.

Gareas's mouth pressed into a tight smile. "Speak then, but don't get touchy, Leena. It doesn't suit you."

Leena rolled her eyes and reassumed walking. "I see, it's one of your jerky days, ne?" she asked.

A low grunt was Garu's only reply as he matched pace with her. "It's this goddamned colony," he said, in the harshest voice he could summon. "Where everyone takes their goddamn lives for granted. No one gives a shit about what's happening out there, but oh do they _bless_ us when we show up to save their sorry lives and their sorrier colonies."

Gareas spent a few more minutes pouring out his not-so-bottled-up gallons of bile on her ears, but she only listened to it half-heartedly.

"I did tell you how this would be like, Garu," she said quietly, cutting him mid-phrase. "You know we were encouraged to forget how life was before we went up to GOA, because it wouldn't mesh well with the life style up there and now we're forced to have it all back, in a rush. Yes, I know everyone wants us to settle down now and accept life like it is here, but as I told you before you decided to come here: you wouldn't like to live here."

She knew she was very literally feeding him with the dreaded 'I told you so' line and that his reaction would probably be violent and insensitive, but she was past caring. Leena had never pleaded to have him come with her, but Garu had been at a loss for what to do. His plans for the future had never gone past his becoming a Pilot, like so many other young kids, young Candidates. They wanted to fulfil a dream, Pilot a Goddess, save Zion, be a good Repairer, do their duty… but what happened when the dream was over? Leena knew she was about to find out.

"You don't have to stay here, Garu," she continued, softly, when he remained silent, looking down at his hands. "I know you could never live here." Leena looked around at the modest houses and neat gardens and genteel people. With a pang of something akin to real pain, she noticed that she wouldn't fit in either, but she had to try. There was nowhere else to go.

"I still have blood in my hands, Leena," he said suddenly, lifting his eyes to meet hers. "His blood."

Leena felt suddenly cold as if an icy wind had come to break the man-made summer. She needn't ask who Gareas was talking about and her heart nearly stopped at the sound of his dead voice, contrasting harshly with the flicker of vibrant electricity of his eyes.

"I can't live anywhere until the blood is washed away. And I've been waiting, hoping, it would go away on its own, but it won't." He took at step closer to her and her body leaned –gravitationally it seemed- to rest between his arms. Gareas bowed his head and spoke into her hair. "I have to do it on my own. I'm sorry."

Leena closed her eyes, locking away the tears and buried her face on his neck. She spared only a moment to wonder at the fact that Gareas had uttered an apology, probably for the first time in his life and then she tried to lose herself in the comforting feeling that was Garu's body encircling her own. The icy cold was still there and Leena knew that Gareas would not stay with her to make it go away. But she didn't begrudge him that.

"I know," she murmured against his skin and he relaxed against her, as if he had been waiting for her approval, for her to show her confidence in him like she always had. For a moment, Leena Fujimura allowed herself to be selfish and clung to him, holding him tighter and offered him a choice. "But if you ever come back, Garu," she told him, sternly, "don't expect me to be waiting for you."

He moved his hands up her back and into her hair, pulling it aside from where his head rested to plant a warm kiss on her neck. "I won't."

Leena didn't ask him whether he meant never to come back or not to have any expectations at his return. She just stood there, holding him and allowing herself to be held.

Pilot and Repairer. Both stood there for a long time, silently speaking their goodbyes.

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Comments, criticism and flames welcome. :)


	4. Erts and Zero

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Megami Kouhosei nor any of the characters featured there. I just borrow them for my personal recreation and, hopefully, yours.

**Notes:** This is a series of short/long drabbles and not an ongoing fanfiction per se. There will be 6 or 8 of them, all featuring one or more familiar characters. Mainly, they're a possible take on the future of the series and not necessarily what I really believe that will happen. Read with an open mind and I hope you enjoy it!

**Pairings:** Just the slightest hint of Zero/Erts. That's shounen-ai, in case anyone's bothered.

**Random stuff:** Again, I had to make some un-canon assumptions regarding the spirits within the Goddesses and what they could or could not do. Also, I'm second-guessing about Erts' telepathy, so bear with me.

·Telepathic interaction is marked «_like this»._ Apologies to the readers that got to it before I realized that the chapter had been a bit screwed up on the upload.

­­»Little Fire, am very glad you approve of my efforts to follow some sense of canon! And don't worry, I'll repeat after you: "Hiead loves no one." Also, you're right about the normal clothes thing. I guess I was just trying to make a point and forgot that no one in their right mind would wear a uniform all the time... Ah well.

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**_Erts and Zero_**

"Give me your hand, Erts!"

They were sitting under the cooling shade of the great three that grew in the observatory. Erts Cocteau eyed Zero warily, slightly taken aback by his friend's abruptness, but he offered the other Pilot his hand. "Erm, what for, Zero?"

"I want to show you something, in your mind, ya know? I really can't explain it with words," Zero grinned at Erts, but his eyes were serious. He took the proffered hand in his own and stared down at the other Pilot's palm. "Do I have to do something else?"

Erts shifted where he sat, acutely aware of the presence of every other person sitting nearby or passing by on the higher levels, probably because of the fact that the current Pilot of Eeva Leena was sitting across him, holding his hand and grinning hugely.

"No," Erts managed a comforting smile, "whatever you want to show me now, picture it in your mind and I will see it."

Zero seemed pleased. He leaned back on the tree trunk and closed his eyes, interlacing his fingers with Erts's and relaxing visibly.

Erts closed his eyes too and tuned out every other sensations he could pick up, either from the people around them or himself; he focused on Zero's mind: the bright, pulsating wavelength that Erts identified with Zero's psyche and he followed Zero wherever he intended to take him.

In his mind's eye, Erts saw a darkened, blue-tinged place that gave off the impression of having no floor and no walls: it was akin to being in space, but… Erts couldn't categorize it, until he perceived a distinct form just a few paces from his point of view. The figure turned around and suddenly it was Zero standing there, beckoning Erts to move closer and Erts did, feeling more and more like he ought to have known where they were.

The white in Zero's Pilot uniform gave off a hint of blue light as he started walking forward and his skin seemed tinted as well; gradually Erts came to the realization that there was only one place they could be: the core of Eeva Leena. With a thrill, Erts realized that Zero was showing him something so very intimate that couldn't, in fact, be put into words.

Yet, this was not all Zero had in mind. He was walking somewhere with clear purpose. Erts decided not to wait.

_­«Zero, where are we going?»_ he asked, silently. Speaking in there seemed utterly out of place.

There was no reply, but the brown-haired boy came to a sudden stop, there in the middle of nowhere and rose his right hand into the air –was it air or immersion gel?- and splayed his fingers before him. As if he had spoken a clear command, their surroundings began to change, swirl, morph into real of forms of many different things.

Erts was at loss again. He blinked several times, adjusting to a source of light that he couldn't identify; when his eyes opened again, he and Zero were standing in the middle of a meadow of green grass under a very clear sky. There was a tree nearby and birds flew overhead. There seemed to be no limit to the sky, the breeze was scented –enough oxygen in it to make one feel dizzy- and exuberant flora around them swayed softly in it.

_«Do you like it?»_ Zero's voice in Erts' mind came, crystal clear.

Erts turned round eyes on the older boy. Sunlight fell over them both and Erts felt strongly like smiling, –grinning, actually- something he hadn't felt like doing in a long time.

_«It is beautiful,»_ he said, knowing that such a simple word could not describe what he was feeling at the moment. «_But it can't be your colony, can it?»_

Zero shook his head and looked around before replying. «_It's Zion. As Erya sees it.»_

_«Erya?»_

_«Eeva Leena's spirit. Have I never told you about her? She showed all of this to me when I first entered her as her Pilot.»_ Zero spread his arms and spun around, high-spirited.

Erts' eyes widened in surprise as he processed this information. He knew of course that there was an actual spirit inside each of the Goddesses, having felt Reneighd Klein's own embracing him when he was in battle –aiding him, guiding him, holding him- but he had always thought that it was too much of a personal subject to discuss with anyone. But then, Zero was like that: open and free with everyone. Erts reminded himself that that was one of the reasons why Zero didn't fear him or draw away from him, the telepath boy.

Erts watched now as Zero whirled -danced?- around, revelling on the cool wind and the warm light. The younger boy found himself wishing –for the umpteenth time— that the war would be over soon. However, Zion had never seemed less of a dream and more of a tangible reality than now. He silently thanked Eeva Leena for this gift she had given Zero and he wanted to thank Zero himself, for sharing it with him, but he wanted to say the words. So, the telepathist withdrew himself from Zero's mind imagery and opened his corporeal eyes to find himself sitting under the tall tree of the observatory.

He observed Zero for a moment, before the other boy opened his eyes. It was an odd sight, that of a relaxed Zero. The new Pilot of Eeva Leena normally was the epitome of energetic. Erts supposed his friend now looked exactly as he did while he slept.

At last, Zero opened his eyes and focused them entirely on Erts. The blond boy squirmed a bit under the penetrating blue gaze, but spoke steadily.

"Thank you for showing that to me, Zero, it did me good. Zion seems a bit closer now," he said, a small smile forming on his lips.

Zero reciprocated it with a broad grin as he leaned back on the tree trunk, his eyelids drooping slightly. "Yeah, it really does. Wish I could show it to Kizna, though."

At that, Erts was suddenly reminded of their still joined hands and decided to give a tentative tug at his, attempting to free it from Zero's grasp. For some strange reason, Zero's fingers just curled tighter around Erts'.

At a loss for what to do, Erts just sat there, head bowed, feeling his bangs get annoyingly into his eyes and hoping to all the five Goddesses that neither feeling nor thought could get past his mental blockade and reach Zero.

"This is alright with you, isn't it, Erts?" The dark-haired Pilot asked, shattering the silence.

"What is?"

"This!" Zero suddenly sprang to life, shaking their linked hands under Erts' stunned face. "Us!"

"Us?" Erts felt his insides jolt at the sight of Zero's unrepentant and open expression.

"Yeah," Zero started, unfazed and oblivious to Erts' uneasiness. "You're one of my best friends, Erts, but not like Kizna is my best friend," he said, matter-of-factly and with much wriggling of eyebrows.

Erts simply gaped at him, momentarily forgetting to block their connection. Never had he made a sweeter mistake; during the brief fraction of time on which their minds touched, many things were made clear to both boys. No drastic changes were looming on the horizon of their friendship, but rather a long stretch of promises, green and sunlit as Zion.

"Yes, Zero. This is alright."

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Comments, criticism and flames welcome. 


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